EIGHT25MEDIA

Contact

Award Winning Firm with 750+ Clients

In 2017, EIGHT25MEDIA was voted the #1 best web design firm in the Silicon Valley.

Founded in 2011, we have gone on to work with over 750 clients. We have worked with start-ups as well as Fortune 500 companies and everything in between. Our strategic approach to web design focuses on technology companies (B2B, SaaS, and B2C), media publications, e-commerce, and other B2C companies. Each project begins with an in-depth strategy session and ends with the delivery of a website that is sure to give our clients the results they want such as lead generation, higher site traffic, and greater brand awareness.

Our service capabilities include strategic consulting, web design and development, and digital marketing and branding.

We specialize in a number of content management systems such as:

WordPress

Magento

Craft

Drupal

And, we work with the newest and most widely used technologies such as:

Updating the look and feel of two existing websites, EIGHT25MEDIA developed new sites, including a local website for a Chinese company. They also created a corporate logo.

The Reviewer

51-200 Employees

Irvine, California

Claire Law

Strategic Marketing Director, MFLEX

Verified

the reviewer

Strategic Marketing Director, MFLEX

Claire Law

Manufacturing

51-200 Employees

Irvine, California

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

“They're very patient and bring excellent ideas to the table. … I’ve enjoyed working with them.”

Mar 28, 2018

The Review

Feedback summary:

The internal team is impressed with the design and the structure of the websites. EIGHT25MEDIA presented multiple proposals to help clarify the vision and then delivered an outstanding product, while their expertise and professionalism contributed to the positive experience.

the review

I'm the senior director for the strategic marketing at MFLEX. We manufacture flexible printed circuit boards. We're owned by DSBJ, which is a provider of different electronic components and integrations with the technology industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We needed a vendor to build new websites for us and our parent company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our old website was very traditional and outdated. EIGHT25MEDIA built a new website for us that was more modern and high-tech. They developed the image that we wanted and helped us create a local website for our parent company, which is based in China and has a lot of unique requirements. They also created a corporate logo for our parent company.

What is the team composition?

We worked with our product manager, a chief designer, and some developers.

How did you come to work with them?

We found them through an online search. We heard good things about EIGHT25MEDIA, so we reached out to them. We liked their proposal and the fast turnaround times, so we chose them for our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our chairman and our internal team are highly satisfied. The website hasn't launched yet, but we're impressed with the design and structure they created. They're very patient and bring excellent ideas to the table.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Basecamp for communication, so our internal team can stay up-to-date with the progress. Their design team is very competent and our project manager is responsive and professional.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re easy to work with. Even when we don't have a clear idea of what we want, they come up with different proposals and give us exactly what we need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve enjoyed working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They will help you develop your ideas and make your job easy. I recommend reaching out to them.

the reviewer

the review

“EIGHT25MEDIA transformed the website into a much more user-friendly, eye-catching platform.”

Mar 26, 2018

The Review

Feedback summary:

EIGHT25MEDIA's website redesign effectively communicates the organization's many services to the public. Their efforts helped increase the overall number of RFPs received through the site. Highly effective in their communication, their team is both solutions-focused and accessible.

the review

I'm the director of IT for the Marines' Memorial Club & Hotel, a nonprofit with over 22,000 members across the U.S. Our mission is to help veterans transition back into civilian life. We run many campaigns for the foundation, send care packages to troops overseas, put on events for Gold Star families, and offer other facilities on site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We were looking for a team of designers to help us capture the many aspects of our organization more cohesively on our website.

I mostly work with four people, including a project manager and some developers and designers.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

I found EIGHT25MEDIA through an online search of vendors in the Bay Area. I was immediately impressed by how patient they were with me, answering all of my many questions. What should've been a 15-minute introductory call turned into a two-hour conversation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $40,000 on the website redesign and we spend about $1,200 per month for ongoing maintenance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contacted them in July 2017 and have been working with them since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We've received so many compliments from our board of directors and staff on the new site—it's a night and day difference. EIGHT25MEDIA transformed the website into a much more user-friendly, eye-catching platform. Since launching, we've received a lot more RFPs through the improved “contact us” page as well.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager offers top-notch customer service. She's available at any time of day and great about addressing any questions I have. Their development team is also patient when going over project details and presenting cost-effective solutions. Their designers were open to our suggestions and helped us reorganize the site in a way that made the most sense. They never said “no” to any of my requests. In addition to email and phone calls, we communicate project information through G Suite and Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their entire team is great to work with and communicates well. They put me at ease by engaging with me in great detail and making themselves available 24/7.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I look forward to engaging them again as other projects come up.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare many questions. The more questions you ask, the better chance you'll have of finding the right vendor for you. They'll need to prove to you on the spot that they can provide solutions and suggestions.

the review

I’m the customer experience manager and marketer for DigiLens, a company that develops platforms in the augmented reality [AR] industry. We specialize in AR displays that can work for wearables, automotive, etc., and the goal is to create these displays for AR applications that can be used in everyday life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We needed to redesign our website because it was outdated, had poor user experience, and was slow to load. The person who built it wasn’t specialized in websites, and it was put together quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started working with us before we did all the formal paperwork because of our aggressive timeline. The first thing they delivered was the mockup of a page design, and it was incredibly easy to understand. They listened to what we wanted, and they walked us through the process of reviewing the page templates. The next deliverables were the actual design.

The site, which is a B2B model, was built on WordPress and we use HostGator as our hosting based on their recommendation. They also created great icons for us. We’re a 15-year-old startup and didn’t have much collateral including marketing or graphics. They were able to look at our offerings and build little icons for us that we can now use for other things. They also helped with questions we had about security and things that we could do to improve the site for visitors.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with Maria, the project manager, the most. Jahzeel [COO, EIGHT25MEDIA] was the project manager on the more technical side.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

I wanted to find a company that was local to Silicon Valley, and I found EIGHT25MEDIA through a search. We reviewed at least three other agencies, but EIGHT25MEDIA had the best proposal. The communication between the team and me was great, they fit cost-wise, and I didn’t want to deal with a time difference.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $30,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February to August this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We added Google tracking, but I haven’t had time to analyze that. Their work had a big impact on the company in terms of recruiting, visitors, and people who are interested in our technology. Especially with CES coming up at the end of the year, now when people come to our site, they can find information quick and easy. We’ve had great feedback, and the site is a step up from what it used to be.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicate well, but there were a couple of times when communication lagged. They used Basecamp heavily in the beginning, but towards the end of the project, it was a lot of emails. We would put our designs and content in Basecamp, but we did more checklists in the end.

We originally had a pretty aggressive launch date. Elias [Senior Account Executive, EIGHT25MEDIA] was very helpful and showed me that it could be done and could be done quickly. Their work was up-to-date and modern.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were quite flexible with everything from the deadlines to questions we had about the site to changes we had to make. We changed the deadline quite a bit, but they were understanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing I can think of.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If you have a concern or need to change something, tell them as soon as possible. They’ll work with you to get through it.

5.0

Overall Score

5.0Scheduling

ON TIME / DEADLINES

They were great with scheduling. If they ran into any issues, they let us know.

EIGHT25MEDIA outsourced an automatic migration process to transfer 454 pages to WordPress while maintaining extant URLs. They also integrated social media feeds to the site homepage and consulted on UX design.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Chicago, Illinois

VP, Software Platform

Verified

the reviewer

VP, Software Platform

Computer Software

11-50 Employees

Chicago, Illinois

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

“They’re responsive. ... the site they built for us is beautiful and intuitive.”

Dec 05, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

They provided an effective solution to an extensive migration and intricate WordPress build. The site feels modern and is fully responsive. Project management could be improved by defined scheduling. The push for final payment before project completion wasn’t made clear from the onset.

Our corporate website was built on a platform called EPiServer and we wanted to migrate it over to WordPress. With 454 pages to migrate, we needed a vendor with an advanced understanding of WordPress to ensure the transition went smoothly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We designed the site internally, based on a previously conducted heuristic analysis. Once we engaged EIGHT25MEDIA, they provided valuable counsel and guidance before the designs were finalized. This included recommending implementation of industry standards and general improvements to the UX.

Then, their team built the staging site and helped with the migration of existing content. They hired an outside consultant to program an automated migration process. This saved us from having to copy and paste hundreds of pages into blank fields. Instead, we only had the responsibility of reviewing pages to ensure compliance with new guidelines and templates. Additionally, they integrated social feeds from LinkedIn and Twitter into our homepage, added hosted forms, and incorporated requested demo fields. Overall, the project was more extensive than the typical WordPress content site build.

What is the team composition?

I don’t know exactly how many people worked on the project in total. The project manager and lead developer acted as our primary points of contact throughout the process.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

I found them either through Clutch or WordPress’s listing of certified partners. I used both when searching for award-winning web development agencies but can’t remember which one I used first. I thought if a vendor had done award-winning work in the past, they’d do so for us as well. We interviewed a total of four candidates and selected EIGHT25MEDIA because of their expertise in WordPress. Being a WordPress certified partner was an impressive credential.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement took place August 2017–November 2017 and the site is currently live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our previous website was in desperate need of an overhaul. It didn’t have an infinite scroll or an edge-to-edge screen—it was a dated design. The new site is responsive and looks great on mobile. The inclusion of social media feeds enhances and modernizes the UX. The hosted forms minimize the need to go a landing page in order to complete a form and the new demo fields allows users to input their email address straight to us. They were vital in streamlining calls to action on the site, which we appreciated.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls to address problems, clarify questions, and receive updates. However, it was mostly us pushing for the calls. Their team would sometimes only have 15 minutes for us, but other times they’d allot 45. It would have been helpful to have a standing call on the same day and time each week, which we could cancel if there was nothing to discuss. However, as my team was adjusting to using WordPress, EIGHT25MEDIA was incredibly responsive in helping us fix problems we may have created.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive and have the ability to build on WordPress efficiently. The site they built for us is beautiful and intuitive. Also, we had the specific requirement of keeping our URLs the same to not disturb our Google analytics, webpage tracking, or history. They did a great job completing the project while maintaining that integrity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As mentioned above, the scheduling of meetings could be improved. If we would have locked in a specific weekly meeting time from the beginning and stuck to it, communication and general project management would’ve been more effective.

Being a services company ourselves, we found it surprising they wanted a 25% deposit before the work began. This prompted our respective CEO’s to negotiate a mutual deposit amount. Additionally, they wanted the final payment just before the website went live. As a client, I didn’t feel comfortable issuing the payment until the ultimate deliverable was completed—and our agreement said that final payment was due upon code handover AND site go-live. That being said, we haven’t had a problem with them completing the project and adding some additional polish since go-live, but we weren’t aware that they would push for final payment as early as they did.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d encourage customers to lock in a standing time and day of the week for updates/project management calls, and to understand the payment amounts and terms (including deliverables) in advance.

The team built a custom WordPress website to provide an updated appearance and story. The mission of the new site was to enhance fundraising capabilities and improve the experience for prospective customers.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

San Mateo, California

Head of Operations, AI Platform

Verified

the reviewer

Head of Operations, AI Platform

Computer Software

11-50 Employees

San Mateo, California

Verified

4.0

Quality:

4.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

4.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

“They are a really talented and hands-on team.”

Nov 30, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

The goals of the new site were met with a more professional look and an improved explanation of what the company does. The site now positions the company as a leader in its industry. The team delivered the project within the short timeline and brought strong expertise to an easy-going collaboration.

the review

We are a machine learning startup that provides embedded artificial intelligence (AI) to empower companies to build the next generation of intelligent connected products. I am the head of operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

Our old website did not offer a lot of in-depth information about the company and was created using a basic Squarespace template that was not very visually compelling. We’re a growing startup, and wanted a new, more “mature” site that would help attract potential customers and investors. We wanted something to effectively convey our story and showcase our technology and applications/use cases.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were on a pretty tight deadline when we approached EIGHT25. We had a conference coming up a little over a month from the time that we had our first conversation with their team, and wanted to have the new site up before then. EIGHT25MEDIA did an awesome job of kicking off our project quickly. Within the same week as our first phone conversation, they sent two people from their team to meet with us in person at our office to do a deep dive into our product/technology and discuss next steps for the project.

The site is built using custom WordPress. We did a “phase one” launch of the website in time for the conference, which included three pages. We’re still in ongoing talks with them about developing a few additional pages to complete the site (that were not needed by the original deadline).

What is the team composition?

We were assigned an account manager, Gishan [Project Manager, EIGHT25MEDIA], who was awesome to work with. I also worked a lot with Jacob [Strategy, EIGHT25MEDIA], who advised us on creative direction and design. Jacob was also very knowledgeable about our industry and quickly picked up on the various elements of our technology platform. This was instrumental to the success of our project as Jacob was able to easily advise us on how to take a complicated technology and present it in such a way that is exciting and accessible to our key audience.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We found EIGHT25 through an online search for top Bay Area design firms. We wanted to find a firm that was not only talented in brand and design work, but who ideally would already be well-versed in our industry (AI/machine learning). That was a big selling point for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the project in September of this year, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

Due to our tight timeline, we had to turn around content from our side quickly in order to meet various design deadlines. Gishan (my project manager) and I had many phone calls—several outside of normal working hours—in order to ensure that deadlines were met on time throughout the entire process.

We had a shared Basecamp account that we used to communicate with each other and share updates. EIGHT25 also used an app called InVision to present the page wireframes and design mockups of each page. These tools were great because with InVision I could go in and make comments directly on the pages, and the designers could see my feedback and reply back in the same thread.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people I worked with were knowledgeable about our industry/technology, easy to communicate with, and overall very organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were occasions when we wanted to make changes to something that had already been moved into design, and we were met with some resistance from their designers because of the time and effort that it would take to make these changes. We were on a very tight deadline, so we knew we had to be careful about keeping revisions to a minimum, but there were a few situations where we felt that something could be changed easily and were surprised to hear that that wasn’t the case. Not sure how that could have been improved upon, but it does come down to communication/setting proper expectations about the design process at the start of the project.

EIGHT25MEDIA created a customized WordPress website with a customer portal that allows users to take a certification exam and download files. Customer support functions are also available.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Burbank, California

Marketing, Radio Manufacturer

Verified

the reviewer

Marketing, Radio Manufacturer

Wireless

11-50 Employees

Burbank, California

Verified

4.5

Quality:

4.5

Schedule:

4.5

Cost:

4.5

Willing to refer:

4.5

the review

“EIGHT25 was very flexible in developing a customized website for us.”

Nov 30, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

The new website provides robust metrics on traffic with Google Analytics and lead information with Salesforce. EIGHT25 impressed with their strong flexibility in providing customized solutions beyond typical templates. Although there were a few delays, they handled them well with good communication.

the review

The company I work for is a radio frequency distributed antenna system repeater manufacturer. I’m the director of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25?

We needed our website updated and wanted to create a portal for our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For our kickoff meeting, they flew to our office. We had a half day of brainstorming to craft what our message should be on our website and analyze opportunities that we weren’t taking advantage of with the old site that we could incorporate with the new website. We listed out the map tree of the new website. Not only did they help out with the building of the site, but they were able to provide us with some strategies on what would be the best approach for our customer.

The site is based on WordPress. The portal enables our customers to get certification exams. We have portals for every client that we deal with. There are many customizations that we have to provide. Getting the certification exams, downloading technical documents, and customer support can now all be done through our portals on our website.

What is the team composition?

There were 5 contacts that we interacted with, in addition to the developers behind the scenes. There was 1 person that managed the day to day communications and another lead engineer who answered all of our technical questions. There was also a lead designer who walked us through the design concept and provided feedback if we had any questions. There was a salesperson who checked on us to see if we have any complaints or questions about the teams that are assigned to us. It was a very pleasant experience.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25?

We sent out an RFP to several companies. EIGHT25 was very flexible to work with, and their response to the proposal was very strong. I was impressed with their profile of customers they had already worked with and the number of projects that they were able to work with the resources that they had. I was referred to them by a former colleague.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2016 until January 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Before our website was redone, it was difficult to get metrics on the traffic to our website. With the new website, we have Google Analytics built in so, it’s easy to monitor where people are coming from, how and when they’re searching and getting to our site, and the period of time when we have peak traffic to our website. We also incorporated Salesforce into our website; any new leads that come from our website can be viewed on Salesforce.

How did EIGHT25 perform from a project management standpoint?

It was mostly positive. They were very prompt with their responses during the development of the website. Their developers are outside the U.S. Sometimes it took longer than anticipated, but they did a good job of communicating what was delaying the project and provided us practical reasons. They did a good job with communication. We used Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really flexible to work with. There are many bigger web development companies out there, and they have fixed models. It’s harder to customize your website with the templates that they provide. EIGHT25 was very flexible in developing a customized website for us. Their price was competitive. The number of customers in their portfolio was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could do a better job with maintenance services. We continue to work with EIGHT25 whenever we encounter any maintenance issues, but their pricing is on the higher side. If they come up with better pricing models for maintenance, we’d definitely be happy to look into that.

They did a good job of developing the website, but when it comes to data extensions like Salesforce or any other plug-ins that we have to use, it would be nice if they had an expert who could help us with that or if they could refer us to a consultant in that area. That could have been better, but overall, they did a good job of guiding us through things that we lack knowledge in.

the review

Nov 30, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

The new site serves as an effective business card and has received positive feedback. EIGHT25MEDIA team highlights include rapid responsiveness, timely deliveries, flexibility, and a keen eye for technological potential.

the review

Fortfire has been providing information security work for enterprise customers for the last 15 years. I am the CEO and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We wanted to find a responsive partner who could understand our needs in a short time. The challenge was updating our web presence: what we did and how we presented not only our company but also my own personality. Our user base is comprised of 500-plus large and mid-sized customers and prospects in the Bay Area.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After an initial phone call, their team came on site and talked to me for a few hours, finding out what we did, what we wanted to do, and what we wanted to portray. They understood our company and me, as a person, over a series of interviews and presented multiple options based on this. Their involvement for understanding facts and getting things ready was intense—they didn’t waste time.

The new site was built from scratch, with no representation of the past presence. I believe the platform is WordPress. They handled the web design and development. The number-one feature was simplicity. Our Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts were integrated with it.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked directly with Rehan Fernando [Founder, EIGHT25MEDIA] for the first few meetings. I was also assigned a main project manager.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We interviewed around three companies referred to us, and theirs came up with good idea proofs. We liked their communication and presentation style, so we did business.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the site development was between $30,000 and $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2015 and finished in October of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We don’t use the website for e-commerce; it’s more of a marketing and branding tool aimed at a certain group of people. Multiple customers, prospects, and general visitors have said good things about the site. It matches what we do and who I am, syncing everything.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

I needed to make quite a few changes and was busy with the company, but they were flexible, worked with my schedule, and delivered accordingly. We had work here and there after the project was done, and they always completed it quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked their experience, flexibility, and vision for the future. With current technology, it’s important to anticipate what could change in six months or a year, and they were on top of that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

On the futuristic side, we talked about automation components, and they were working on this. They have tools in place already, they just need to do more.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be as open as possible in the initial discussion, and build a trust. Being apprehensive about what can be shared is not recommended. Any issues should be mentioned so the developer can understand the scope. This has been beneficial for us, and it enabled them to become a part of our team and know our business.

the reviewer

the review

“Their understanding of internet business strategy… [is] a differentiating factor in the market.”

Nov 27, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

Their strategical knowledge sets them apart from competitors, and the strongly representative site will facilitate purchases, increase brand trust, and boost CRM. Their work should simplify workflow and bolster conversion and revenue.

the review

We offer virtual and augmented reality courses and training to working professionals and companies. I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We needed an agency to help us redesign our website and boost our online strategy. We had an existing website, but we wanted something more professional.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our initial calls, they learned about our business model and our goals for the site; then, their strategy and development team built a proposal. They included the technology that would go into the site, our goals and roadmap, and all the other aspects of the project. After we agreed upon the budget and timeline, we provided a series of sample sites we liked. They responded with wireframe mockups and their strategy for moving forward. From there, it was an iterative process with open communication. They sent us their progress, we provided feedback, until we cycled into design and development of the site itself.

We built a custom site on a WordPress platform in PHP, with WooCommerce plugins. We have a lot of integration with our CRM [customer relationship management], and are trying to automate our marketing and sales tasks to improve the functionality of the site. Other valuable features include the site’s data collection and visitor tracking.

What is the team dynamic?

We initially spoke to two strategists, and were assigned an account executive, Maria [Client Services, EIGHT25MEDIA]. The team also had a designer, lead and secondary developers, and perhaps one other person helping with e-commerce and sub-design.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We ran a Google search for web development agencies. I reviewed 20–25 agencies and sourced rough quotes from about five of those. We ultimately chose them because of their understanding and insight into other strategic add-ons to the site.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work in February 2017, with a late-November launch. We hoped to launch sooner, but we needed to make mid-project changes that extended the timeline.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The site improves our entire company’s image. We are just about to launch, so will have better quantitative results in the future. It should facilitate purchase, imbues brand trust, and gives us a boost in CRM. The integration the site provides is important to us. Automation will save us time in billing and invoicing, marketing, and customer data management. Connections to the backend will make our teams more productive, and we hope to see increases in conversion and revenue, and other positive ROI [returns on investment].

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

Maria, our account executive, was patient. She listened and adapted to meet our needs, and she always communicated the timeline and expectations through what became a ten-month process. She provided top quality service, and brought in their development team whenever something needed technical explanation. Originally, we used Basecamp and Google Sheets, but switched mostly to email. Overall, the process was great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We really valued their understanding of internet business strategy. So many companies can develop or design websites, but their strategies are a differentiating factor in the market. They provide helpful specifics, like video testimonials on our checkout page that improve our conversion rates. They give tactical advice we can actually implement and measure. That knowledge really sets them apart from their competitors, and helps us meet our goals.

Using ideas from other websites in the industry, EIGHT25MEDIA built a WordPress website from scratch. The site includes many features such as the ability to increase the font size and downloadable forms.

The Reviewer

11-50 Employees

Fremont, California

Jesse Jung

Partner, East Bay Retina Consultants

Verified

the reviewer

Partner, East Bay Retina Consultants

Jesse Jung

Medical Devices

11-50 Employees

Fremont, California

Verified

5.0

Quality:

5.0

Schedule:

5.0

Cost:

4.5

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

“They're a hard-working group of people.”

Nov 09, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

This small but mighty team custom-developed a website that met all requirements. Users appreciate the simple, user-friendly access to information. The team excelled at providing responsive communications. They finished the project with a lesson on the basics of how to use the new site.

the review

I'm a partner in a retina physician practice. There are five of us that take care of patients with retinal issues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EIGHT25MEDIA?

Our current website was inoperable and based on an old flash-based system. We wanted to update our website to improve our marketing and to make information available to our patients and referring doctors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We reviewed some of their other projects, and we were happy with them. I had an idea of how I wanted the website to look because I had used comparable websites for other private retina practices throughout the country, so we accumulated those ideas.

We had a price range that we were looking at and parameters that we hoped to maintain. We weren’t looking for ongoing maintenance because we're not planning to do a lot of updates to the website on a regular basis. They understood our requests and goals and worked on them.

The site is built on WordPress. There's not a lot of user interaction; it's mainly to provide information about us. We wanted our visitors to have the ability to change font size because our patients are elderly with blinding diseases and people with poor vision. It was very straightforward and clean.

They also included links to PDF files for referring doctor forms and patient information forms that people can download before coming for their first visit.

We also wanted our patients to receive information about our facilities, locations, and our physicians. Everything is in drop-down menus that don’t require a lot of clicking; you click on one menu, and it opens everything up for people to review. We wanted the experience to be simple and not have a lot of subsequent pages.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with Maria Miranda [Client Services, EIGHT25MEDIA]. She was my point person. I also worked with a couple of software engineers periodically.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

I found them on Google and saw online reviews. We’re in the Bay Area, and they’re in the San Jose area. We thought the closeness would be nice in case we needed to touch base, but most communication was done over the phone and email.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September 2015 to January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Patients like our website. It has all the information, and it's very easy to navigate, which is what we care about. We refer our patients to it because there is an information section that has information about diagnoses, treatments, etc. Our main goal was to make it functional. We didn't have a functional website before, and this was a step in the right direction.

I looked at Google searches to make sure it doesn't fall off the first page. We optimized SEM wording to make sure that we have higher hits.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good about giving me access to a domain while they were working on it. InVision was where we would work on it together. Initially, I populated the information on my end. This was all clinical information, so I gave them the diagnoses, and what we wanted to be in each section, etc. It's all our original content. It took an effort to put it in, but this is all information that I put together.

Once the content was there, they put it together quickly, and we had a few sessions at the December period to get everything where we wanted it. It was good having Maria as a point person, and Rayhan was the other person that I worked with. We usually had an engineer on the calls when we were discussing it to make sure that everything made sense. It was good communication and good feedback.

We had regular feedback sessions to show the layout and how it would look and share my ideas. Via WebEx meetings, they reviewed what they've worked on. When they were constructing the layout, there was a month where they were just working on it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a hard-working group of people. The small team that worked with me regularly was responsive. I could call them or email them at any point, and they would give me feedback or respond to me quickly, within the day. That's important to me.

Because our contract is for building the website, and not maintaining it, they taught me how to do basic changes to WordPress. It was good that they went through that with me. Even if I have questions now and I want to make changes, they don't charge me for their time. I messed something up on the page one time, and I asked for help. They fixed the problem and didn’t charge me for it, which was very kind of them. This was 6 months after the website was done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One thing that they could improve upon is to understand that people are not always on the same level. Sometimes, it was hard to relay how I wanted things because their understanding of the process is different. I didn't understand SEM, and I still don't. If they had explained that there were more aspects of the project that we needed to have in the beginning when we were creating the budget, we could have been more inclined to incorporate them. But, it was not bad because they still worked with me on it.

EIGHT25MEDIA built a website for a large gaming company’s real-time messaging platform, intended to generate leads and provide information. The site was developed using PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The Reviewer

1,001-5,000 Employees

Palo Alto, California

Technical Proj. Manager,

Verified

the reviewer

Technical Proj. Manager,

Internet

1,001-5,000 Employees

Palo Alto, California

Verified

4.5

Quality:

4.5

Schedule:

4.5

Cost:

5.0

Willing to refer:

5.0

the review

“Their eagerness to be able to work with new technology was great.”

Nov 06, 2017

The Review

Feedback summary:

Though the completed site was not launched for unrelated reasons, it was used effectively for learning and beta testing potential clients, as well as for reference internally. The team was excellent to work with, working extremely hard to understand the business goals and set workable timelines.

We were trying to solve how to create an engaging front-facing website to tell people more about a messaging platform we created. We're not necessarily in the business of making websites, so we wanted to work with the best in the industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to be able to create a website that not only generates leads but also provides information for potential new clients. We gave them a high-level review of what we wanted, and they were able to create the architecture information from there to build something that was engaging for our user base. They used PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to develop the site.

The website was real-time; we were able to deliver messages within milliseconds and at scale as well. No other platform offers this kind of service; that sets us apart from other messaging systems out there.

What is the team dynamic?

The size of the team varied. Sometimes, we needed more engineers. It depended on what part of the deadline we were running up to. I had the CEO and one of their project managers always meeting with us at least once a week to go over our compressed timeline. I talked to at least 2 other engineers at the same time, going over any issues and bugs.

How did you come to work with EIGHT25MEDIA?

We took a look at the top websites that we liked and narrowed our search down to agencies that worked on similar products. We also left our review process open; we were talking to people who didn't work on similar products but created cutting-edge websites that were in line with our cutting-edge technology.

Ultimately, we found that EIGHT25MEDIA had the most breadth of different products that they've worked on, and their story was compelling. What they wanted to bring to the table and the questions they asked were far beyond what we received from others. They were eager to set our business goals as well as timelines. We were encouraged that they would be really good partners to work with, which is true from my experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February 2016 to May 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We really enjoyed working with them and appreciated the work that they've put in, but we ended up not launching the product due to differences in opinion from upper management.

We use the website internally as a reference. It's extremely helpful for being able to codify a lot of our messaging that we would later use to rebrand. We also used the website for a lot of learning and beta testing for potential clients.

How did EIGHT25MEDIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a good job of being able to pull us in. They utilized Basecamp as an external project management tool. They had their own internal project management tool as well, which was a really good tool for us to be able to communicate assets, websites, etc.

I also had a project manager on call at any time. If the current project manager had any issues, I would be able to contact the co-founder or another project manager who also knew about the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their eagerness to be able to work with new technology was great. They were quick to try to understand who our target audience was. They were quick to want to execute on anything that we can give them.

Their turnaround was quick as well. We are very strict about our security on apps, and they allowed themselves to integrate with our development operations team and our applications security team to make sure that they were delivering code that was compliant, as well as addressing any security concerns. They figured out how to best organize information for us to be able to deploy it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were very flexible with us. I feel they should've been a little bit less flexible with some of the requirements because that did impact the timeline, but that was to our detriment because we didn't provide the information they needed.